The Green Bay Packers defeated the Washington Commanders 27-18 in a game where the final score hardly tells the full story. Green Bay dominated from start to finish, controlling both sides of the ball and dictating the pace. However, stalled drives, untimely penalties, and mistakes on special teams kept the score closer than the Packers' performance warranted.
Still, they benefitted from some impressive individual performances. Tucker Kraft surpassed 100 receiving yards in a game for the first time in his career. Javon Bullard was flying around near the line of scrimmage, making plays everywhere. Micah Parsons recorded eight pressures, the most by any Packers player in a game since Rashan Gary on New Year's Eve 2023 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Still, there's one player who has taken a lot of heat from the fanbase and should get a game ball for his performance against Washington: Keisean Nixon.
Nixon allowed only one completion on six targets for nine yards while recording five pass breakups, the most by a Packers defensive back in a game since Jaire Alexander put on a coverage clinic against the Los Angeles Rams in his rookie year.
For context, Nixon's season high in pass breakups is seven, meaning he nearly matched a full season's worth of pass breakups in just one game. Furthermore, no player recorded five pass breakups in 2024. Yet, Keisean Nixon achieved this feat on Thursday.
He had Noah Brown in the pits of hell for most of the game. On one play, Brown initially got the better of him on a corner route, but Nixon recovered, punched the ball, and forced the incompletion.
In the same clip above, Brown runs a curl route, but Nixon stays disciplined, jumps the route, and forces the incompletion. It's attention to detail and precise execution, exactly the type of play the Packers need from their cornerbacks.
Brown also tries a double move against Nixon in the clip above, but he doesn't bite. Nixon mirrors him step by step on the go route and forces the incompletion - just masterful stuff.
With under eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the Commanders facing a fourth down on their own side of the field, Nixon lined up against rookie Jaylin Noel. He jumped the slant, forced a turnover on downs, and essentially sealed the game for the Packers.
Nixon finished the game with an elite 90.6 coverage grade. Nearly 30% of his career pass breakups have come on a Thursday night. It was a performance from a truly established CB1.
"I want to be CB1," Nixon said one day after Green Bay's 22-10 playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 Wild Card as players cleaned out their lockers for the offseason. "CB1 is not doing kick returns. That's just what it is."
Nixon played like a CB1 on Thursday night, holding his own against one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC.
The question moving forward is whether Nixon can maintain this level of play. If he does, we can dismiss all the offseason talk about the Packers lacking a reliable CB1. He definitely has the swag and the talk to back it up. If he continues to trend positively, Green Bay will gain one more star playmaker in their defensive backfield.